Lake D'Arbonne
Lake D’Arbonne is a reservoir located near and around the town of Farmerville in Union Parish in north Louisiana. Isolated in a rural area, it is a popular man-made fishing area that has a combined estimated area of. The lake was first conceived in 1957. The 2450-feet long concrete dam was built in 1961 by the Louisiana Department of Public Works and the resulting lake took shape by 1963 behind the 54-feet tall dam. Lake D’Arbonne State Park, a state maintained camping and recreation area, lies on the lake.
State Senator B. R. Patton, State Representative T. T. Fields, landowner Alvin Green of Bernice, and Fred Preaus, a Farmerville automobile and timber businessman who served as state highway director in the administration of Governor Robert F. Kennon, worked to make the lake a reality.
The Louisiana State Highway 33 bridge atop Lake D'Arbonne in Farmerville is named for James Peyton Smith, the state representative from Union and Morehouse parishes from 1964 to 1972.
